1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to apparatus for removing webs from cartridges, and more particularly to such apparatus wherein the webs are pulled from the cartridges and then cut.
2. Description Relative to the Prior Art
When manufacturing cartridges containing webs, it is desirable, due to manufacturing imperfections in the cartridges or webs, to be able to remove the webs from the cartridges for purposes of recycling the webs and/or cartridges. As an example, when manufacturing cartridges containing film, certain defects in the film or cartridge may result in a finished film cartridge unsuitable for sale. In such a case, the film cartridge may be thrown away thereby wasting the raw material contained therein. Or, and preferably, an attempt can be made to salvage some or all of the film cartridge components, including the film. While apparatus are currently known which are capable of recycling the film alone or the cartridge alone, the film must somehow be removed and separated from the cartridge to make use of such apparatus.
Since commercial feasibility of a recycling program depends upon the relative cost of recycling versus the cost of new raw materials, the cost of the recycling process is a critical factor. At present, the film strips are removed from the cartridges manually; i.e., a person grasps a web end portion which protrudes from the cartridge and manually pulls the film straight out from the cartridge. Then, with scissors or other cutting means, the film strip is cut near the film cartridge, thus accomplishing the desired result of separating the film from the cartridge. While the manual process accomplishes the desired result of separating the film from the cartridges, such manual operations are inherently expensive thereby making the recycling of film cartridge components less attractive, at least from a commercial standpoint.